ME 101: Materials Science and Technology

Module 8:
Hardness Testing
Professor Krishnan Balasubramaniam
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Madras,
Chennai 600 036
Hardness is the resistance of
a material to abrasion or
localized plastic deformation

ME101: Materials Science and Technology

Hardness
Hardness is not necessarily an indication of
strength , although for some materials such
as steel, a harder steel is a stronger steel.
Measure of a material’s ability to resist
surface indentation or scratching
A difficult property to describe in terms of
first principles Þ value depends greatly on
method of testing.
Different testing methods Þ different scales
and values

ME101: Materials Science and Technology

Hardness Testing
Brinell Hardness Test: 10mm diameter
ball with a load of 500, 1000 or 3000kg
Rockwell Hardness Test: A cone shape
indenter; the depth of penetration is
measured.
Vickers Hardness Test: Pyramid shape
indenter

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Brinell Hardness Test (BHN)
F

Brinell’s Hardness
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 Brinell’s Hardness Testing
P from 500 - 3000 kg
D= 10 mm

BHN = (2 P ) { π D ⎡D −
⎢⎣ ( D 2
− d 2
) ⎤
⎥⎦ }
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BHN Animation

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Brinell Test Protocol
1. Press a 10mm (3/8") diameter ball into
material with a known amount of load.
2. Measure diameter of the indentation.
3. BHN = Load = 2L
Surface Area πD[D-(D2-d2)1/2]
1. L = Load placed on ball, usually 3000 kg , but 1500 kg,
and 500 kg can also be used.

2. D = Diameter of steel ball ( = 10 mm)

3. d = diameter of dent, measured by looking thru a

Brinell microscope.

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Analysis of Plastic Deformation
during Brinell Hardness Test

Plastic Mild steel

Elastic
H
Copper

H = Ae-BT

d/D(%E)

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Tensile Strength = 3.4 BHN

Tensile Strength (MPa)

Correlations between the

Brinell hardness number (BHN)
and tensile strength of carbon
steels. Hardness (HB)
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Limitations of the Brinell
Hardness Test
„ Sample must be ten times thicker than the
indentation depth (sample usually should
be at least 3/8" thick).

„ Test is most accurate if the indentation

depth is 2.5 - 5.0 mm. Adjust load to
achieve this.

„ Test is no good if BHN > 650

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BHN PROS & CONS
Widely used and Destructive
well accepted Non-portable
Large ball gives
High initial cost
good average
reading with a single ($5,000)
test. Error due to
Accurate operator reading
Easy to learn and Brinell Microscope
use (10% max)

ME101: Materials Science and Technology

Rockwell Hardness Test
(Hrb,HRc,etc.)

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Rockwell Hardness Method
Machine measures depth of penetration and computes
hardness

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Rockwell Hardness Method
Select Scale - load and
indentor depending on
the scale
Press a point into
material
„ - Diamond Point (Brale)
„ - 1/16" ball
„ - 1/8" ball
„ - ¼” ball

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Load levels and indenter sizes for Rockwell hardness tests.
Coefficients in
R = C1 – C2 t
Symbol Minor(Pre-) Major(Total)
Indenter Load, kg Load, kg C1 C2mm-1

Normal Scales
RB, 1/16 ball* 10 100 130 500
RC, cone + 10 150 100 500
RA, cone 10 60 100 500
RD, cone 10 100 100 500
RE, 1/8 ball 10 100 130 500
RF, 1/16 ball 10 60 130 500
RG, 1/16 ball 10 150 130 500

Superficial Sales
R15N, cone+ 3 15 100 1000
R30N, cone 3 30 100 1000
R45N, cone 3 45 100 1000
R15T, 1/16 ball 3 15 100 1000
R30T, 1/16 ball 3 30 100 1000
R45T, 1/16 ball 3 45 100 1000

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Rockwell Test Limitations
z Sample must be ten times thicker than the
indentation depth (sample usually should
be at least 1/8" thick).
z Need 3 tests (minimum) to avoid inaccuracies
due to impurities, hard spots.
z Test is most accurate if the Rockwell
Hardness is between 0 and 100. Adjust scale
to achieve this.
For Steel:
If HRa > 60, use HRc scale
If HRa < 60, use HRb scale

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 PROS & CONS (RHT)
Widely used and Destructive
well accepted Non-Portable
Little operator Initial cost ($5,000)
subjectivity
Accurate
Fast

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Rockwell Readings to Brinell
1) If -20 < HRc < 40
BHN = 1,420,000
(100 – HRc)2
2) If 40 < HRc < 100
BHN = 25,000__
(100 - HRc)
3) If 35 < HRb < 100
BHN = 7,300____
(130 - HRb)

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Vickers Hardness Testing
DPH/VHN/VPH/VH = 2PSin(θ/2)/L2 P
P: applied load in kg, 5-120 kg
L: average diagonal length, mm
(typically from a few µm to 1 mm)
θ
θ: angle between opposite faces of
indenter; ≡ 136°
Range: 5 (extremely soft metals) - L
1500 (extremely hard materials)
A
1.854P
HV = 2
L
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Vickers Hardness = F/A = 3σy
Vickers Hardness Testing
Continuous hardness from soft (5 DPH) to
hard materials (1500 DPH)
DPH independent on load value unlike BHN
Careful surface preparation required
Slow due to careful measurement
Small indentation compared to BHN
Pin cushion and Barrel indentations possible

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Vickers to Rockwell Hardness

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Other types of HT
Knoop hardness Test: Pyramid shape
indenter
Scleroscope: rebound height
Durometer: The resistance to
penetration (elastic deformation)
Relationship between Hardness and
Strength
TS = K h (HB ) where K h = 500 in lb/in 2

= 3.45 in MPa
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Knoop Hardness Test
Micro Hardness Tests
„ Major : Minor = 7 : 1
14.2P
HK = 2
L
„ P : Applied load = 25 gf- 300 gf
„ Ap : Unrecovered Proj.area of indentations, mm2
„ L : Length of long diagonal, mm
„ C : A constant supplied by the manufacturer
(C=0.07028 for 172° 30' between long edges and 130°
0' between short edges)
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„
Pros & Cons (KHN)
Accurate Slow
Useful for elongated Sensitive to surface
and anisotropic condition
constituents.
Subject to error in
Requires load to be
normal to surface diagonal measurement
plane parallel surfaces
Can be done on
mounted specimens

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Microhardness variation in a 9Cr-1 Mo steel weldment as a function of position.
Note the structural changes and the corresponding changes in hardness as the
fusion line is traversed.
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Comparison of HT Methods

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Shore (Durometer) Testing
The Shore (Durometer) test provides an empirical
hardness value that doesn't correlate to other
properties or fundamental characteristics.
Shore Hardness, using either the Shore A or Shore D
scale, is the preferred method for rubbers/elastomers
and is also commonly used for 'softer' plastics such as
polyolefins, fluoropolymers, and vinyls. The Shore A
scale is used for 'softer' rubbers while the Shore D scale
is used for 'harder' ones.
Because of the resilience of rubbers and plastics, the
hardness reading my change over time - so the
indentation time is sometimes reported along with the
hardness number. The ASTM test number is ASTM
D2240 while the analogous ISO test method is ISO 868.
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Shore Tester

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ME101: Materials Science and Technology
ME101: Materials Science and Technology
Problem on Hardness
Testing
The Brinell’s Hardness Test of an alloy steel was measured
to be 355. What is the diameter of the indentation if a load of
2000 kg was used. Also compute the tensile strength of the
material.
D= 10 mm
d = 2.65 mm
Tensile Strength = 1207 MPa

ME101: Materials Science and Technology

 The Brinell hardness of an alloy steel is 355. Compute the
diameter of the indentation if a load of 200 kg was used and estimate the
Solution
corresponding tensile strength of the material.

BHN = ( 2 P ) { π D ⎡D −
⎢⎣ ( D2 − d 2 ⎤
⎥⎦ ) }
Substituting the values from the problem statement yields :

355 = ( 2 )( 2000 ) {
10π ⎡10 −
⎢⎣ ( 102 − d 2 ⎤
⎥⎦) }
which after some algebra gives d = 2.65mm

ME101: Materials Science and Technology